Welcome to the Jungle
by blueeyes11218
Summary: Secretly jealous of even her best friend's romantic lives, Chelsea continues earning money to build the final bridge on the island. Will she ever get the chance to meet a guy for herself? ChelseaxShea, some NataliexPierre, SabrinaxVaughn and LannaxDenny
1. Prologue

_A/N: This is a ChelseaxShea/Shiba fan fiction. For the most part, I'll be following the storyline of the game (I think), but there will be other things in there that don't. I'll be addressing my favourite island native as Shea, because that's his name here. Sorry to those of you who know him as Shiba. The story is told from Chelsea's POV, though there may be later chapters (At least one that I've planned already) that are told in third person if Chelsea is absent.  
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_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness or any of it's characters_

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Many seasons have gone by since I first washed up on the island. I had left the city in the hope of finding a new future. However, the ship that had intended on taking me to that future got caught in a storm and I found myself waking up on a sandy beach. Luckily I was not the only survivor that washed up on the island shore. A family of four had also made it through the storm. An old man, Taro, found me lying in the sand and took me to his family. His daughter, Felicia was especially welcoming and she introduced me to her two children, Elliot and Natalie, who were both around the same age as me. Elliot seemed quite intelligent, if a little too self-conscious. Natalie, who was the youngest, had an uncaring attitude about her, but I suspected there was more to her than that. I wasn't wrong either.

After a quick search, we found plenty of abandoned buildings on the island, so it had been inhabited once before. Felicia's family picked one to live in, but it was Taro who found the farm that I now call home. I took up responsibility of running the farm, with Taro giving me tips whenever he felt like it and his family shipping out whatever goods I produced.

The day after we settled down, Chen arrived on the island with his little boy, Charlie. The two traders heard how we had decided to live on the island and chose to start up their new store there too. Ever since then, more and more people have been coming to the island. Some to live, some only arriving on certain days for trade. I really did try to meet and stay on good terms with all of my new neighbours, but I mostly focused on my farm work. Even through that, I managed to become close friends with Natalie and Sabrina, an artistic girl whose job was doing the book keeping for her father's mining work.

The island was flourishing. Yet as the main source of income, the duty of commissioning Gannon, the island's local carpenter, for new bridges fell on me. Each bridge built led to a new part of the island, which meant there was more land for people to move in and build on. Before I knew it, we had a diner, a hotel and even a whole new town. Building bridges wasn't cheap however, so I spent almost all my time working. Which meant I was missing out on the romance that seemed to be blossoming between the islanders.

Both Natalie and Sabrina often stopped by my farm to chat while watching me work. Always making sure to keep me up to date on what was going on with their love interests. I could understand Sabrina's infatuation with Vaughn. He was tall and handsome. He had that that silent, emotionless thing working for him, and the cowboy look was certainly flattering. However, Natalie's interest in Pierre was a mystery to me. He looked like a young Willy Wonka. Although that could just come from the fact that he was a chef and always carrying some piece of cutlery. Or maybe it was the purple top hat that he always insisted on wearing. Whether I understood it or not, my friend's tales made with twinge with jealousy. The way Natalie's eyes glazed over as she explained about her mushroom hunt with Pierre, and the way Sabrina blushed as she informed me that Vaughn had walked her home when she didn't feel well, all made me wish I had something going on too.

Don't get me wrong, I love looking after my farm and tending to the animals, but everyone seemed to be having some sort of relationship, except me. Denny, a fisherman that had joined me once when I was doing some fishing of my own, had something going on with our local famous singer, Lanna. Even Elliot had animal-loving, Julia after him. I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me Felicia had a thing going on with Chen, though I doubted that. But that was how bad it was getting. Everyone was getting dates for the festivals, or at least someone they could look out for. Was it too much to ask for the same for me?

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_A/N: Well that's it. I know it's short, but that's just the prologue, the other chapters will be longer. Hope you like. Please review, constructive criticism welcomed. Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 1 The Final Bridge

_A/N: Chapter one already! Don't expect them all to be up this fast, I just got bit by the writing bug recently. This is (loosely)based on the first time you meet Shea in the game. The chapter was originally going to be call "Welcome to the Jungle" after the actual event in the game, but I used that for the overall title of the story. So I named the chapter "The Final Bridge". I thought it was rather poetic, an end leads to another beginning. It's the last bridge Chelsea has to pay for, but it's the first time she meets Shea, staring a new experience for her. I know I'm blabbering on, but I hardly ever put so much thought into a title so wanted to tell you all about it. Now on with the story!_

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness or any of it's characters_

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Chapter One - The Final Bridge

Nothing could beat the satisfaction, in the Spring of my second year, of handing over to Gannon the 10,000G and 500 pieces of lumber he required to build the final bridge on the island, from East Town to the Jungle. I could only imagine the resources I could find in there. I'd be careful of course, nothing is as delicate as the balance of nature.

"You're a real hard worker, little lady. Ya know that?" Gannon said, grabbing the blueprint that he'd already drawn up for the final bridge. I liked that about Gannon. Knowing that I would eventually commission him to build the bridges, he had previously gone out and done all the measurements. Which meant by the time I gave him the money and material he was ready to go.

"Me, Gannon? If that's true, I'd say we're two of a kind. Not once have I come in here for something that you don't already have a blueprint for," I said, smiling and leaning on the counter to look at the blueprint. It was very detailed. Gannon definitely knew what he was doing. We couldn't ask for a better carpenter. Looking at all the working out he had done made my head spin. I was so lucky Taro left the farm to me. The work was more physical than mental (and I had toughened up since my arrival on the island), but carpentry seemed a mixture of both.

"I'll give ya that, but working hard is what makes a living. And I want a good life for my little girl". I grinned. Gannon's daughter, Eliza, looked like the sweetest little thing. Though I heard from Natalie that she liked to cause mischief for Pierre sometimes when she was playing with Charlie. If Gannon knew, he'd probably tell her off, but I couldn't imagine him staying mad at her for too long. He was far too much the doting father.

"And you both deserve it," I replied, standing up properly and stretching. "Well, Gannon. I'll leave you to it. See you soon". With a wave and a smile, I left the shop. It was clear and sunny today, as if the weather knew things were getting easier for me now that the final bridge was built and it wanted to celebrate with me. So how was I going to celebrate? I'd fed and tended to all the animals before I left for Gannon's shop that morning. Planting new crops could wait until tomorrow, since I'd put a fair amount in the shipping bin already.

Fishing. I hadn't spent a good time fishing for a long time. Maybe Denny was at the beach. Now that he was seeing Lanna he didn't go out in his boat every day. I think that it was just in case she decided she wanted to find him. So I'd find Denny and go fishing. I could listen to him talk about Lanna, which I preferred to hearing Natalie or Sabrina gush about their respective almost-but-not-quite-yet boyfriends.

On the way to the beach however, I found Taro pacing up and down the path. Normally I wouldn't stop to say hello, but I was in a cheerful mood and the old man looked troubled. So I approached him with a huge grin.

"Hey Taro! How's things?" I asked. The old man looked up and raised his eyebrows at my friendly face. Had it really been that long since I'd greeted someone so cheerfully? I guess the farm had kept me even more busy and exhausted than I thought.

"Morning Chelsea. Things are as usual. My guts telling me we'll have another sunny day tomorrow. So what's put such a smile on your face?" Taro replied. He was frowning at me slightly.

"I just commissioned Gannon for the final bridge! There's no more to build!" I announced happily. Now that I didn't have to worry about farming the extra things to earn money for the bridges, I could relax a little bit more. Maybe have time to do some real socialising.

"That's great news! And wonderful timing! I was just thinking that these roads need to be fixed up. With the bridges finished, you can save up for that now, right?" My face fell. Every single drop of positive and hopeful attitude I had just drained out of my body. There went all the free time I'd had planned. As the money-maker of the island, I could hardly say no.

"Sure I can Taro. I'll get right on that."

"Thank you Chelsea, this island will really be at it's best because of you," the old man replied before walking off and heading home. I watched him go and hung my head with a sigh. It seemed there was no time for fishing after all. I had to head home and plant those crops. Life was just unfair sometimes.

"And he said it was just no good anymore, so he can't use it! All that food! Wasted!" Over a week had passed since Taro had asked me to pay for the new roads. I'd spent every day since then working on my farm. That day was no different, with the exception of Natalie and Sabrina's presence while I milked the cows. Natalie had had some sort of minor conflict with Pierre, so she was of course telling us all about it. Apparently he had asked her to go out and buy some ingredients for him. But when she brought them to him, she found that he already had everything .

"Well, he is a gourmet chef, Nat" I said calmly, giving Betsy a pat as I finished milking her. "His ingredients need to be the best or it's just not good enough for him"

"But he's used those ingredients before! And they were delicious" she groaned, annoyed that I wasn't supporting her. She looked to Sabrina for some help, but it seemed the brunette agreed with me.

"His ingredients do need to be specific" she said quietly. "But if he wasn't going to use them, why didn't you just take them?" Natalie just stared at us for a minute and then picked up the brush I used for the animals.

"I'm going to brush Betsy for you". It looked like she didn't want to continue the conversation if we were going to prove her wrong. That was fine with me. I had work to concentrate on. As I moved to go milk Millie, Sabrina followed me, leaving Natalie with Betsy. She didn't say anything for a while, just watched me. It wouldn't have bothered me if I hadn't realised she wanted to say something. As it was, I stopped working and gave her a questioning look. She blushed as if I'd caught her doing something wrong and took a deep breath.

"I was wondering… if you had any milk and rice to spare. And if I could use your kitchen, because I don't want my dad watching me. I wanted to try to make some porridge for Vaughn when he arrives tomorrow" Sabrina explained, looking highly embarrassed at her idea. I thought it was rather sweetly romantic of her, but that was exactly why I didn't feel like helping. Then a thought struck me.

"Why don't you go ask Pierre? He's got those spare ingredients now and I'm sure he'll be more than pleased to show off his cooking skills." Sabrina frowned, confused for a moment about why I couldn't simply give her the ingredients I clearly had. Then she caught on and smiled.

"That's a brilliant idea! Oh, but I hardly know Pierre. It would be rude of me to just turn up at his door asking for ingredients" she exclaimed. She whirled around on the spot to face Natalie. I couldn't help admiring the way her long, dark hair fanned out around her as she did so. "Natalie! Could you take me to Pierre's house? I'm sure he wouldn't mind then, knowing that I'm your friend."

Natalie glared at us both for a moment and then continued brushing Betsy. She knew exactly what we were doing. It was just a matter of whether she was going to let us get away with our little plot. Finally she put the brush back where she found it and folded her arms.

"Well, I suppose I could. Even though Pierre doesn't deserve to see me right now, I will go just to help you, Sabrina" she said. The way she phrased her words was funny. She was making it so that she could admit to herself that she was wrong, but not lose that always right attitude she worked so hard for. "We'd better go now actually. See you later, Chelsea."

I waved as Natalie grabbed Sabrina by the hand and marched out of the barn. Sabrina looked back and grinned before they disappeared, leaving me alone with the cows once more. Once I finished milking Millie, I gave her a quick brush and headed outside. That was my morning chores done. Something had made me get up stupidly early that morning, so the crops had been watered, the animals fed and tended to. I'd even got some fishing done. What to do now?

The answer to that question was given to me when Gannon came stomping up the path to my farm. It looked like he was about to head to my house, so shouted him and waved. Turning, he saw me standing outside the barn and quickly made his way over.

"Hey Gannon. There are only a few reasons you'd come up here, so I can only imagine this is good news" I said, smiling. Thank god for contagious smiles. Gannon chuckled and smiled back at me.

"You just have to know everything, don't ya. I finished the bridge this morning. I'll tell ya, the forest look quite invitin'. If you're planning on exploring, make sure you come back and tell me."

"Of course I will Gannon. No problem there," I replied happily. Gannon nodded and turned to head off back to his shop. This was great timing. I could go explore the jungle. I might be able to find some things to put in the shipping bin for a little extra money. I didn't waste time in running down to East Town. I passed a number of people who seemed quite curious as to where I was running to.

I grinned when I reached the new bridge. It had been beautifully built, well-structured and smooth. Nothing less could be expected from Gannon. I walked across and delighted in the soft thud every step carried on the wood. Stepping on the lush green grass on the other side, I stopped to look around, wondering where I should start looking first.

"Hello Chelsea!" Hearing the voice made me jump. Where did that come from? There was a sudden flash of light in front of me and I had to take a step back. Now in front of me floated a little Harvest Sprite. Every time I went to a new part of the island, one of these little guys popped out to welcome me. I should have expected it really. I smiled and bent down slightly so I was on the same level as the sprite. When it spoke again, it confirmed what I already knew. "I'm a Harvest Sprite. I live in this jungle. Welcome!"

"Thank you" I said politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you". The sprite grinned, as if it didn't hear that often. Probably not, how long had it been since someone had been to the jungle?

"You know, there are two native islanders who live around here," the sprite said suddenly, as if it had been following my train of thought.

"Natives?" I repeated. So there were already people here? Were they friendly?

"Their tribe has lived on this island for generations. You should meet them! They're a little odd, but I think you'll get along!" the sprite said excitedly. What kind of world was I living in for me to trust the words of a little creature that had appeared out of nowhere? I nodded.

"I'll see if I can meet them," I promised.

"Good luck!" it said, and with another flash of light it disappeared. I frowned. Good luck? Was it just saying that or was there something I needed luck for? Was there something about the natives that the sprite had neglected to tell me? Hearing the sounds of footsteps, I quickly stood up fully.

It was the bare chest that caught my eye first. It wasn't muscled, but there was a promise of strength in the broad shoulders. A single strap attached to what I assumed was a knife pouch was slung over the young man's shoulder. His skin was a naturally tanned brown that made me think of the beach. The only clothes he wore were the furs of an animal I didn't want to imagine. Some of the fur was around his forearms. The rest created a loincloth around his waist and what was more socks that shoes tied around his feet. The yellow-brown hair was brushed so that it spiked at the back, tied in place with string. I couldn't see his face as he was looking at the ground while he walked, which explained why he hadn't noticed my presence yet.

I let out the breath that I hadn't realised I'd been holding. That seemed to set off an alert in his mind as the young man looked up and spotted me. We simply stared at each of for a moment and it occurred to me that this was one of the natives that the sprite had spoken about. Underneath his narrow, chocolate-brown eyes was some kind of orange paint across his cheeks. Blinking, he seemed to come to his senses and turned to run back the way he came. To this day I have no idea what made me do it, but as he ran, I ran after him.

Deep into the jungle, I did my best to keep up with him. I was breathing heavily and could feel the energy draining out of me. So it was a relief when I saw the old house up ahead, surrounded by the wildness of the jungle. The young man had disappeared inside, and I stopped outside the door. Had he noticed that I was following him? I'd come too far to go back now, so I knocked gently on the door and pushed it open. The young man was inside, but he was not alone.

An older man was inside the house with him. He was also dressed in animal furs, but his appearance was not as flattering. His dark hair was a wild mess, and he had thick, bushy eyebrows to match. A skull and bones were worn around his head like a crown and I was pretty sure that it was a newt hanging from his mouth by the tail. I stared at them both, trying to think of something to say. To explain exactly why I was intruding on their land. Then the young man spoke, but not to me.

"What that?! Is it… dangerous?" he asked the older native. That? It? To say that hurt was an understatement. Did this guy realise he was being rude? Talking about me as if I were an inanimate object that couldn't understand him. "Strange animal. First time I see it. Wada, is that food?"

Food?! They didn't seriously think I was food, did they? I could see now why the sprite had wished me luck. These two clearly hadn't seen another human in a very long time. Though must have at some point, to be speaking understandable, even if a little broken, English. There was a long pause as both the young man and I waited for a response.

"No… human… like us" Wada (I assumed that was his name) finally replied. I breathed a sigh of relief. However, I still didn't say anything since I was too busy wondering how he'd managed to talk without dropping the newt from his mouth.

"Human…? First time I see one…" the young man mumbled, thinking out loud to himself. Then he turned his attention to me. "You really… a human?" I nodded. What else could I do? My mouth had gone dry and all I could do was gaze at him. He smiled. It was such a warm and inviting smile that I couldn't help smiling back. "Good! Humans are friends! You not food. Wada told me. What your name?"

"Chelsea" I replied, a little too quickly. I was just glad to finally get a word out. I didn't want them thinking I was a complete idiot or something. Hang on, why was I so worried about their opinion of me? That confused me for a moment, but the thought was wiped from my mind when I saw that warm smile again.

"Oh, Chelsea. I'm Shea. You be friends with me, okay?"

"Of course! That's the reason I came here." What? No it wasn't. Well, why I came to their house maybe, but I'd come across the bridge to collect things from the jungle. I was going to correct myself, but Shea looked so pleased that I didn't want to ruin it for him.

"I… very happy. Visit lots, Chelsea!" he exclaimed, an even wider smile on his face. It was nice to know I could make someone so happy just from being there. My stomach growled and I realised I hadn't eaten since my quick breakfast that morning and then I'd done all that running. No wonder I felt so drained.

With that realisation, I started to go weak at the knees. The next thing I knew, the floor was no longer beneath my feet and I was being caught in a pair of strong arms. I put my hands up to support myself and found that I was placing them on a bare chest. My face turned red with embarrassment when I realised it was Shea who caught me. Even with my eyes threatening to close on me, all I could think of was how useless and weak I must have looked. I tried to stand again, but found my legs being picked up from under me. Shea held me up close to him, in a bridal style I realised with a blush. He was gazing down at me, a worried look in those beautiful eyes.

"Where Chelsea home?" he asked, giving me the slightest shake.

"In town…" I breathed. "Across the bridge". That was all I needed to say and all I could manage. Wada held open the door and Shea shifted me in his arms so my head rested on his shoulder. He hurried out the door and almost ran back through the jungle. Where he found the strength to move at that pace while carrying me, was beyond my imagination. I was just grateful he was going to get me home, but at the same time I was embarrassed to be like this. It was extremely comfortable in his arms. I wanted to snuggle up close to him and never let go. It wasn't until the soft padding of feet on grass turned to the hurried thumps of walking across the bridge that I realised people were going to see me like this. What would my neighbours think? I tried to say something to Shea, anything to make him let me walk on my own feet again, but he interrupted me.

"Where now?" he asked. Completely forgetting that I wanted to put down, I tried to think of how to explain where we were going. Then, I heard a familiar voice.

"Chelsea?! What's happened?!" I turned my head slightly to see both Denny and Lanna running towards us. I felt the heat, that had gone down, rise up in my face again. So much for hoping no one saw me. Denny and Lanna both stopped before getting to close, unsure of what was going on.

"You Chelsea friends?" Shea asked them, studying them both very carefully, especially Denny.

"Yes we are" Lanna answered, because Denny was determinedly glaring back at Shea. My new friend turned away from the fisherman and spoke directly to Lanna.

"She almost faint in jungle. Where Chelsea home?" he asked, repeating the question he had directed at me earlier. It seemed he was determined to see me all they way there. I wasn't going to get a say in it. Denny stopped glaring at Shea long enough to take Lanna's hand and reply.

"We'll take you there."

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_A/N: I hope it wasn't too long. I'm not sure how it came across, but Chelsea isn't already in love with Shea. It was more a "Oh my god, this good-looking, half-naked, strong man is carrying me in his arms" sort of feeling. Unless you're not into good-looking men, you'd probably feel the same way. I'll slowly start building up their relationship, so they'll start as friends. Anyway, please rate and review!_


	3. Chapter 2 Thank You

_A/N: Chapter 2 as promised. Thank you for all the reviews. I feel really inspired when I get good reviews. I don't have much to say here, so on with the fic!_

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harvest Moon: Island Of Happiness or any of it's characters._

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Chapter 2 - Thank You

"Chelsea! Wake up! You've got some explaining to do!" I groaned at the sudden cold. Opening my eyes, I found my two best friends looking down at me. Sabrina was hovering anxiously at the end of my bed, while Natalie towered over me, the covers she had just pulled off my bed were rolled up in her arms. Sometimes I regretted giving spare keys for my whole farm to Natalie's family, but they needed them in case I was ill one day or something. Someone had to keep the farm running. I looked down at myself as I sat up and wondered why I was still dressed in my normal clothes.

"What are you two doing here so early?"

"We saw Lanna. She said you got carried home by a savage man yesterday."

"Native, Natalie. She said native," Sabrina corrected with a smile. Natalie shrugged.

"Savage, native, same thing. The point is…" Here she stopped to give me her best no-nonsense glare. "What, Chelsea, were you doing in the jungle with a half-naked wild man?"

"Nat, what on earth are you…" I started to ask before it all came flooding back to me. My trip to the jungle. Following Shea to his home and making friends with him and Wada. Fainting from exhaustion and getting carried in his arms. Denny and Lanna leading him to my farm and him watching over me as Lanna tucked me into bed. The last thing I could remember before I dropped of to sleep was Shea leaving. Denny had followed him out, as if making sure that he actually went.

I groaned and tried tugging my covers back from Natalie. A glance at the clock told me that she'd come over extra early to make sure I couldn't make excuses about having farm work to do.

"Oh no you don't!" Natalie said, pulling the covers out of my reach. "You have to get started early today, so that you've got time to go thank wild man for looking after you."

"His name is Shea," I told her automatically, as I clambered out of bed. Stifling a yawn, I started to pack my things for the day into my rucksack. Carrying the necessities around with me saved me the trouble of having to go back and forth all the time.

"Ooh, Shea now, is it?" Natalie said teasingly. Now that I was up, she put the covers down and made the bed for me. At least she had the decency to do that after waking me. With Natalie silent for the moment, I began searching around the timber cupboards for my misplaced watering can, but then Sabrina came over and flashed a mischievous smile.

"So what's this Shea like?" she asked. Clearly neither her or Natalie wanted to drop the subject. "Are you interested?" I sighed and got down on my knees to look under the bed, earning a disgruntled noise from Natalie for messing up the covers.

"I met him yesterday, Sabrina. Right now, I'm just embarrassed that I fainted the first time I met him." I said, frowning as I stuck my head under the bed. "Aha! Got it!" I jumped to my feet, triumphantly waving the watering can in the air. Natalie had sat down on the bed, flashing Sabrina a look and grinning.

"Maybe you were so overwhelmed by his rugged, wild-man, good looks that your body just couldn't stand it."

"Don't be ridiculous, Natalie."

"So you don't think he's good looking?" Sabrina asked, joining in on Natalie's teasing.

"I never said that…" I said, starting to defend myself. Natalie, of course, cut me off.

"So you're attracted to him?"

"That's not… I didn't… Stop twisting my words!" I cried, my face burning up as I tried to glare at the two girls who had now burst into a fit of giggles. Natalie had fallen back on the bed and was clutching at her sides, howling with laughter. Sabrina was polite enough to hide her uncontrollable chuckles behind her hand. I glared at them both. "Don't you two have better things to do than pick on me?"

At my words, Sabrina gasped. She pushed past me to get a good look at my alarm clock, picking it up in her hands as if she couldn't quite believe what time it was telling her.

"I have to go!" she exclaimed, dropping the clock onto the bed and running for the door. She looked back and waved as she hurried out. "See you two later".

"Bye Sabrina! Good luck!" Natalie shouted after her, recovering from her giggle fit. I frowned. Good luck? Had I missed something? My friend must have seen the quizzical look on my face, because she shook her head at me and sighed. "She's giving that porridge to Vaughn today".

"Oh! I almost forgot about that," I replied with a slightly nervous laugh. I was really slow on the uptake that morning. Must have been the result of getting woken up so early.

"You did forget," Natalie said, seeing through my ploy. She shook her head again, but she was smiling. At least, she wasn't holding anything against me. I wondered why that was. With all my stuff for the day ready, I moved to the door and waited for Natalie to follow me out. Then, together we headed over to the barn. If Natalie ever decided to help with anything, it was the animals. So I always made a point to take her to the barn in case she was feeling generous. Which she must have been, because once we were in the barn, she picked up a bucket and went over to Betsy.

"So how did things go at Pierre's house last night?" I asked, as I sat down to milk Millie. The two cows were stood close together, so it was easy to keep the conversation going. Natalie laughed. Not really the response I expected, but at least she wasn't angry.

"He apologised. The moment he saw me on the doorstep, he just started saying sorry repeatedly," she explained. Catching on, I laughed too.

"I assume you didn't play the loving girlfriend and say you were sorry too," I said, leaning over to look at my friend. A slight blush had appeared on her cheeks at the word 'girlfriend', but she didn't acknowledge my use of the word in any other way. I guess they technically still weren't boyfriend and girlfriend just yet.

"Damn right I didn't! I told him that he was right to apologise, but lucky for him I had come up with something to get rid of some of the ingredients" Natalie replied happily. Clearly it had gone well for her. She was on good terms with Pierre again, without any hurt to her pride. I just hoped that Pierre was as happy with it as she was. "And then I got Sabrina to explain about her porridge. He was more than happy to help."

"That's good, but porridge doesn't take up many ingredients, what's happening to the rest?" I asked curiously. If Pierre had been so apologetic, surely he would have come up with a solution. I couldn't imagine all that food going to waste after Natalie had reacted so badly to it.

"Oh! He donated it all to the diner! He said it would benefit everyone that way!" Natalie announced. "After Sabrina's porridge was done, the three of us took all the food over there. It took a few trips actually. Come to think of it… we were just leaving the diner for the last time when we saw Lanna." I frowned and put my head down. I had just been thinking about how successfully I'd moved the conversation away from Shea and it had been brought right back to him. Natalie noticed my silence, chuckling softly, she continued. "We were quite surprised when she said to not go see you again until morning. Even more so when she told us about wild man."

"It's… Uh… Was Lanna alone?" I asked, narrowly avoiding correcting the nickname for the second time that morning. At my question, Natalie gave a short laugh. I never figured out if it was because she noticed my slip or because of what she told me next.

"Yeah, she was. She said she had to send Denny home because he kept pacing around." I chuckled softly to myself. I could imagine Denny doing just that, but what was more funny was that Lanna had told him what to do and he'd listened. He must have liked her more than I'd realised.

"I'll go thank her later".

The rest of the morning passed rather quickly. Natalie and I finished tending to the animals together, then she disappeared to do her own work at home. All my other chores, I did myself. The crops were all watered, some were nearly ready to be picked. I went fishing and actually managed a few good catches. Once everything was done, I headed out into town.

On the way over to Chen's store, I spotted Sabrina and Vaughn walking together. She was blushing as he had one arm around her waist. Clearly he had appreciated his porridge, as it was so unlike him to show emotion or attachment like that. Deciding not to disturb the couple, I merely waved at them and disappeared into Chen's store. There I got some chocolate and some supplies for the farm, before heading over to Gannon's.

True to my word, I planned on telling him about my trip to the jungle. He greeted me as usual and listened patiently to my story. When I reached the part about me fainting, I stopped. I was seeing it all in my mind and the memory of Shea catching me made me blush. I purposely looked down at the ground so that my hair was covering my face. Gannon chuckled.

"There's no need to tell me the rest, Chelsea. Thanks to the combined efforts of Natalie, Lanna and Denny, everyone already knows about your trip home".

"Oh… uh… everyone?" I asked, rubbing the back off my head in embarrassment. Gannon nodded. That simple nod made me feel like doom was upon me. What were people thinking now?

"When our local farmer gets carried home like that, everybody wants to hear about it, ya know?" Unfortunately, I did know. I was just going to have to bear it. I thanked Gannon for his time and hurriedly left. It didn't take me long to reach Lanna's home, but I stared down at my feet the whole way there. I didn't want to see if anyone was watching me with curiosity.

Lanna pulled me into a hug the moment she opened the door. Gasping for breath, I explained to her I wasn't planning on staying, I'd just stopped by to give her something as a thank you for the day before. She released me long enough to accept the chocolate I'd brought for her, but then pulled me back into another hug as she squealed with delight.

"Oh! Thank you Chelsea! But you didn't have to do this for me," she said happily as she freed me from her grip once more. This time I took a step back, so I couldn't be easily pulled in again.

"I wanted to thank you," I said simply with a shrug.

"Alright then. So… if you're not planning on staying, where are you off to now?" she asked, smiling curiously. It was almost as if she knew my answer, but wanted to hear it from me anyway.

"I'm going to drop my stuff back at the farm and then I'm going to go into the jungle". Lanna cast me a look that was both disapproving and worried. I gave her a smile that I hoped was reassuring. It must have been close at least, because she sighed. "Just make sure you take food and drink with you this time. We don't want you fainting again". I laughed. She sounded like a mother. Sometimes it was hard to believe Lanna was a pop star. She just didn't act how you would imagine.

After promising several times that I would be extremely careful, Lanna let me head home to the farm. Once there, I emptied my rucksack of all my tools and shopping. Then refilled it with plenty of food and water. Finding an old newspaper, I wrapped up the biggest fish from that mornings catch and set off with my supplies.

The walk through the jungle was rather uneventful. Conserving energy by taking a slower pace than my last visit, I had time to look at the scenery I passed. It was really beautiful. The variety of natural greens was soothing, especially when combined with the clear blue sky above. I enjoyed the fresh air as I walked. It would have been perfect if time stopped just there. However, when I saw Shea's home up ahead, I quickened my pace, eager to see the young native again. And Wada too, of course.

"Hello? It's me, Chelsea" I said cautiously as I pushed open the door.

"Chelsea! You back!" Shea exclaimed. He ran over from where he'd been sat in the corner with Wada. It looked like they were sharpening spears. I hoped I hadn't interrupted a father son bonding session or something. Though Wada looked pleased to see me too, so perhaps not.

"Well, yes. I had to thank you for taking me home yesterday" I said, holding out the wrapped-up fish. "So this is for you." I watched as Shea took it and pulled off the newspaper. He stared dumbfounded at the fish for a moment and it occurred to me that Shea could probably get all the fish he wanted himself. I should have got something else. Then a smile spread across his lips, a smile that became an elated grin.

"Thank you Chelsea!" he cried. He carefully put the fish down in a wooden bucket, which I was pleased to see was filled with slightly smaller fish. Shea's reaction was making me smile back. Wada watched us both grin at each other, that newt still hanging from his mouth.

"Well, that was all I came for. So I guess I should -" My intentions were cut short as Shea grabbed me by the hand and led me over to where Wada was sat. His hand was warm and his touch prevented me arguing against him.

"Come! We show you how make spear sharp" Shea told me, pulling me down to sit between him and Wada. He put a spear in my hands and all I could do was stare at it dumbly. Clearly confused, I looked up at Wada.

"…Watch…… follow…." he said, picking up a stone and quickly scraping it across the spear head. I nodded and followed suit. It seemed that they only had two stones, as Shea sat and watched me. I yelped when the friction between the stone and spear created little sparks, almost dropping everything. Both Wada and Shea laughed at me. Shea gently put his hands over mine and guided them away from my chest, I had been holding the spear quite close.

"Hold away from you. Safer," he explained. He didn't let go off my hands, helping me to make sure the spear was sharpened properly. I never realised until he moved away again, taking his body's warmth with him, how close he'd been. I tried my best not to wish he hadn't moved.

I was in high spirits by the time I left. I had enjoyed sharpening the spears with the two natives. At some point we in the afternoon, we had stopped to cook and eat the fish I had brought. Then we went straight back to the spears. Now, Shea stood at the door, waving at me as I walked away. I had taken a bottle of water from my rucksack to drink as I walked back. I barely noticed the darkening sky, only focusing on what was straight in front of me. So when I got back across the bridge and saw the star-filled sky, I couldn't help but smile. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

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_A/N: End of chapter! Sorry Shea wasn't in it much until the end, I just wanted to make the point that even though it's about his and Chelsea's relationship, I wont be leaving out her farm life or her other friends. I promise lots more Shea in the next chapter though, I have plans. Until then, please rate and review!_


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